Slub catchers in a winding machine



T. E. PlTTS SLUB CATCHERS IN A WINDING MACHINE- Original Filed June 26.1961 July 28, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR 77/0/1445 5 P075 BY QM 6Maw ATTORNEY July 28, 1964 T. E. PITTS sws CATCHERS IN A WINDING MACHINEOriginal Filed June 26, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 II..- ll

INVENTOR filo/m5 .6. H773 BY Q F.

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,142,451 SLUB CATCI-IERS IN A WINDINGMACHINE Thomas E. Pitts, Cranston, R.I., assignor to LeesonaCorporation, Warwick, R.I., a corporation of Massachusetts Continuationof application Ser. No. 119,552, June 26, 1961. This application Oct.17, 1963, Ser. No. 316,952 16 Claims. (Cl. 242-356) This inventionrelates to improvements in a winding machine particularly adapted foruse in winding yarn and more particularly relates to improvements in theslub catching mechanism of such a machine.

This application is a continuation of my copending application Ser. No.119,552, filed June 26, 1961, now abandoned.

In the yarn winding machines such as heretofore commercially produced byLeesona Corporation of Providence, Rhode Island, and its predecessor,Universal Winding Company, it has been customary to wind yarn from thesource of supply such as a bobbin to form a yarn package and in so doingto pass the lengthwise moving yarn through a series of yarn servicingand tensioning elements interposed between the source of supply orbobbin and the package being wound. The yarn servicing mechanisms haveconventionally included a slub catcher adapted to detect the passage ofabnormally thickened portions or snarls in the yarn and to part the yarnadjacent these portions, leaving a free end from the source of supply aswell as a free end which is wound onto the package being formed. Anarcuately moving transfer arm, generally in the form of a suctiondevice, is triggered by the parting of the yarn to advance in onedirection by swinging around the slub catcher and other mechanisms andthence laterally across the free end portion of the yarn extendingbetween the slub catcher and the source of supply. It then severs theslub at the free end of said portion and on its return stroke lays thefree end from supply both laterally into the slub catcher from one sidethereof and also into a knotter located between the slub catcher and thepackage being wound. The free end from the source of supply is thenautomatically united by the knotter with the free end which will havepreviously been picked up by suitable means from the package and laidinto the knotter.

Such a conventional mechanism is disclosed in the Goodhue et al. US.Patent 2,764,362, of September 25, 1956, and in the copendingapplication of the instant inventor and Carlton A. Steele, Serial No.30,346, filed May 19, 1960, now US. Patent No. 3,081,045.

In the operation of such a winding mechanism, however, it has been foundthat the arresting of the yarn travel by the slub catcher incident tothe engagement of a slub thereby and subsequent parting of the tensionedyarn tends to produce a recoil action of the yarn between the slubcatcher and the source of supply with the likelihood of producing snarlsclosely adjacent the free end. When this free end portion is picked upby the transfer mechanism for movement back into the slub catcher and tothe knotter,the arcuate path of the transfer element carries a length ofthe yarn around the slub catcher so as in effect to bypass the latterbefore the yarn is again moved back into the slub catcher. It is thisparticular length, generally amounting to some 18 inches or so which issubject to snarling as above mentioned and which, of course, may alsocontain undetected slubs. In either case any slub or snarl in thisparticular length of the yarn which has bypassed the slub catcher isnormally wound into the package being formed and thus is likely toproduce defects in any material woven therefrom.

The present invention has been conceived with the foregoingconsiderations in mind and, accordingly, has for its primary object toprovide in a winding machine an arrangement of slub catching mechanismsfor acting upon substantially the entire length of yarn delivered to thepackage being wound, including such length or portion thereof as maynormally be caused to bypass the conventional slub catcher incident toactuation of the knotting mechanism.

It is a further object to provide an auxiliary slub catcher or snarlcatcher which may be readily applied as an attachment or accessory toexisting machines to supplement the action of the existing main slubcatcher thereon by intercepting and preventing passage onto the packageof any slubs or snarls in that portion of the free end from the supplywhich normally bypasses the main slub catcher during the free endpicking up and tying cycle.

It is a still further object to provide a novel arrangement anddisposition in a winding machine of a main slub catcher and an auxiliaryslub catcher, so interrelated with each other and with the transfer armof the knotting mechanism that the transfer arm, in removing the yarnfree end portion laterally from the main slub catcher, moves it into andthence through the auxiliary slub catcher, thence back into the mainslub catcher and into the knotter in such manner that one or the otherof the two slub catchers detects and arrests slubs or snarls which mayoccur at any point throughout the entire length of the yarn, with theresult that no unmonitored length or portion of the yarn is permitted toproceed onto the package being wound. The invention further comprisescertain details of the specific form of auxiliary slub catcher ashereinafter more fully described and as illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the yarn servicing mechanism of a windingmachine, interposed between the bobbin and the package being wound,including mechanisms for tensioning, cleaning, detecting and eliminatingslubs and snarls and also including a transfer arm or mechanism forcarrying the free end of the yarn after removal of the slub into aknotter to be reunited to the free end of yarn extending from thepackage; the transfer arm being indicated in full lines in anintermediate operative position and in broken lines at the forwardextremity of its advance stroke, just prior to commencement of itsretraction movement toward the knotter.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of the structure shown in FIGURE 1 andfurther including a fragmentary showing of the housing which provides apivotal support for the knotter transfer arm and its actuatingmechanism.

FIGURE 3 is a plan view on an enlarged scale of the auxiliary slubcatcher per se.

FIGURE 4 is a side elevation of the slub catcher of FIGURE 3; and

FIGURE 5 is an end View of the slub catcher of FIG- URE 4 as viewed fromthe left hand end of FIGURE 4.

Referring now in detail to the accompanying drawings and referring firstto the overall arrangement and combination of elements illustrated inFIGURES 1 and 2, the general organization of the elements and theelements per se illustrated in these figures are, for the most part,conventional and, therefore, these views are primarily of a diagrammaticand general nature. In the structure shown the majority of the yarnservicing components are carried on a flat support or bracket in theform of a plate 10 constituting the cover plate of a housing 11 whichencloses the various mechanisms and linkages of a conventional naturerequired to actuate certain of the components. However, since suchmechanisms and linkages within the housing are of a conventional naturewell known to those skilled in the art and similar to the disclosure ofboth the aforementioned Goodhue patent and pending application SerialNo. 30,346, they are not shown and described herein. As above mentioned,the support It) and its associated housing 11 are interposed between asource of supply for the yarn from which the yarn is led longitudinallyacross and above the plate and thence to a rotating yarn packing onwhich it is wound by any conventional means while at the same time beingaxially traversed back and forth from end to end of the package in usualmanner. The yarn as thus normally disposed during the winding operationis designated by the broken line Y in FIGURE 1, it being apparent thatthe yarn is moving in the direction of the arrow in that figure incidentto its winding onto the package. It will be seen that the yarn Y isguided over the supporting plate 10 through an eyelet 14 fixedlypositioned at the forward edge of the plate, then passes betweensuitable tensioning discs generally designated by the referencecharacter 16 in FIGURE 1. In accordance with usual practice there isslidably axially disposed through these discs a yarn sensing pin 17normally maintained in a raised position as long as the yarn is passingbetween the discs, but which is permitted to drop by the action ofgravity and by its dropping action to trigger usual mechanism within thehousing 11 for indexing the bobbin magazine not shown, to bring a newbobbin into position following exhaustion of the yarn from an oldbobbin.

From the tension discs 16, the yarn Y extends through a usual slubcatcher generally designated 18, the illustrated form of slub catcherbeing conventional in form and similar to that shown and described inthe copending application Serial No. 30,346, of Thomas E. Pitts et al.,filed May 19, 1960. The slub catcher 18 may be of any conventional formadapted to intercept portions of the thread of abnormally thick diameteror knots, snarls or the like, and arrest their movement toward thepackage whereby the force exerted by the winding action will tend topart the yarn.

In the instant arrangement the slub catcher employs a pair of relativelyspaced guides 19 and 20 extending parallel to each other andtransversely to the thread movement and having relatively smooth loweredges 19 and 20' disposed in spaced relation above and parallel to thefiat upper surface of an anvil 21. A slub catcher blade 22 is pivotallysupported in a reversely bent portion or recess 23 of the element 20 andis normally maintained in a retracted position above the anvil 21 bymeans of a suitable spring arrangement 24. The arrangement is such thatwhen an enlarged portion of the yarn Y too large to pass between thelower edge of the blade 22 and the anvil 21 engages the lower edge ofthe blade, it then tends to swing the blade with the enlarged portion orslub and toward the anvil 21 whereby to function somewhat in the mannerof a knife to part the yarn on the right hand side of the slub as viewedin FIGURE 2.

It will be seen that the slub catcher blade 22 together with theassociated guide plates 19 and 20 have their lower edges normally spacedabove and parallel to the anvil plate 21 to form slots which open towardthe right in FIGURE 1, the anvil plate 21 and the slots being ofappreciable transverse extent to guidingly engage and determine thelevel of the yarn as it is wound onto its package, while permitting thenecessary lateral traversing movement of the portion of the thread beingwound. In accordance with conventional practice the arrangement is suchthat the yarn may be placed in the slots beneath the plates 19 and 20through the open end thereof by the action of the transfer arm 25hereinafter referred to. In order to facilitate the reception of thethread or the yarn from the transfer arm there may be provided means forswinging upwardly the right hand end portion of the entire assembly ofguide plates 19 and 20 and slub catcher blade 22 during actuation of thetransfer arm, such means being shown in the copending applicationearlier identified herein.

Also, in order to better guide the thread or yarn laterally into theslub catcher and its associated guide plates there may be provided astationary guide 26 having an inclined cam portion as shown in FIGURE 1and merging with a hold down bar 27 longitudinally spaced rearwardly ofthe guide plate 20 but extending parallel thereto. A triggering meansfor initiating an operative cycle of the yarn pickup and transfer armand the associated knotter may take the form of a yarn tension controlarm or device 28 normally biased upwardly and located between the guideplate 20 and the hold down bar above mentioned. The thread or yarnextends beneath the lower edge of the guide plate 20, thence over thetriggering or tension arm 28, thence beneath the hold down bar 27 fromwhence it extends to the package being wound. The triggering arm 28 isnormally biased upwardly but is held down in the position shown in FIG-URE 2 as long as the yarn is tensioned across it in the manner shown.However, as soon as the yarn is broken through actuation of the slubcatcher, the trigger element 23 is free to move upwardly and initiatethe yarn end pickup and tying cycle through suitable conventionalconnections with the pickup arm 28 and knotter (not shown).

Where it is desired to apply wax to the thread or yarn being wound thethread may be passed through a usual waxing or wax applying devicegenerally interposed between the tensioning discs 16 and the main slubcatcher. In the instant case the wax applying device assumes the form ofa wax disc W having a generally square opening through its center, thewax disc being supported on and rotatably driven by a shaft having asquare end portion 30 received in its central opening, rotation beingimparted to the shaft by conventional mechanism within the housing 11.

It will be seen that the thread Y extends between the rotating wax discand. a supporting platform 31 against which the disc is urged bygravity, the arrangement being such that the disc thus rests against theyarn and due to its rotary movement is worn away evenly incident to itsapplication to the yarn.

When the yarn is broken by actuation of the main slub catcher toinitiate the free end pickup and tying cycle, it will be seen that thebreak will occur substantially at the slub catcher blade 22 or betweensaid blade and the yarn package being wound, thus leaving the free endfrom the supply of yarn extending between the tensioning discs 16, andthe main slub catcher blade 22 across the path pursued by the free endpickup device or arm 28 in its operative movement. The free end portionfrom supply is thus accessible to be picked up by the transfer arm ormechanism 28, the free end of which moves in an are just rearwardly ofthe tension discs and intersecting the generally longitudinallyextending yarn Y in a direction generally transverse thereto. Theposition of the yarn at this time may be better maintained orsupplemented by the action of a suction slot 32 communicating with amain suction pipe 33 shown fragmentarily in FIGURE 2, whereby the freeend of the yarn is drawn into the said slot automatically. This sameslot serves also to clean the yarn during its passage toward the packageonto which it is to be Wound. There is also shown a suction nozzle 34positioned to hold the free end of a reserve bobbin carried by a rotarymagazine in accordance with conventional practice in such manner thatwhen the magazine is indexed to bring the reserve bobbin into operativeposition, the free end portion of yarn normally extending to the suctionnozzle 34 will be moved into the eyelet 14 to extend across theoperative path of the transfer arm 28 to be picked upon thereby andcarried to. the knotter in usual manner to replace the yarn from anexhausted bobbin.

The transfer arm 28 is exemplified as being in the form of a suctiontube having one portion journaled in bearing 35 for rotation about afixed axis spaced rearwardly of the housing 11, with its free endswingable between the tensioning discs 16 and the usual cam plate 36positioned to engage the follower 37 of a conventional cutter and clampmechanism carried by the free end, so that when the free end swingsacross the path of the yarn Y and carries it generally to the positionshown in broken lines Y1 in FIGURE 1 before commencing its returnmovement, the cutter will be actuated by interengagment of the cam plateand follower to sever the portion of the yarn carrying the slub, wherebythe latter is sucked into the slot 32 for removal through the mainsuction pipe, leaving the newly cut end gripped in the cutter formovement with the free end of the transfer arm.

From the position shown in broken lines at FIGURE 1 at the extremity ofits advance stroke, the transfer arm 28 will then commence itsretraction stroke through an are generally designated by the line A inFIGURE 1, whereby the yarn will be carried laterally to the right handside of the slub catcher to a position such as at Y2 in FIGURE 1, and aconsiderable portion thereof will be caused to completely bypass themain slub catcher 18 before it is moved back laterally thereinto by thecontinued arcuate movement of the arm incident to the laying of the freeend of the yarn from the source of supply into the knotter whichfunctions then to unite it with the free end of yarn which will havebeen picked up previously and delivered into the knotter from thepackage being wound. It will be seen that the guide element will tend toguide the yarn laterally into the sidewise opening slot of the main slubcatcher during the latter stages of the swinging movement of thetransfer arm but that nevertheless after the transfer arm has laid thefree end from supply into the knotter there will be a substantiallength, in practice approximately 18 inches or so of the yarn, whichwill never have been acted upon by the main slub catcher. Thisparticular portion has been found inpractice to contain a somewhathigher than average incidence of slubs or snarls, the latter beingcaused to a large extent as an incident of breakage or parting of theyarn by the slub catcher and the ensuing recoil or whipping action ofthe tensioned yarn.

The foregoing features and elements of the invention together .with theforegoing mode of operation are all in accordance with conventionalpractice, but have thus been described in said detail in order tofacilitate a better understanding of the instant invention and theproblems giving rise thereto. The said problemsconsist primarily of theaforementioned bypassing of the main slub catcher by a portion of theyarn incident to the picking up and tying cycle in such a conventionalmechanism.

In order to provide for detecting and eliminating slubs and snarls inthis particular portion or length of the yarn which normally bypassesthe main slub catcher during actuation of the transfer arm, there isprovided in accorddance with the instant invention an auxiliary slubcatcher designated 40 in its entirely, which is normally disposed to oneside of the yarn Y when in its normal position during the course of thenormal winding operation, but which nevertheless is positioned andadapted to receive and act upon the said portion incident to the lateralcomponent of movement imparted thereto by the transfer arm 28 incarrying said portion toward the knotter.

While an auxiliary slub catcher 40 suitable for the purpose of theinstant invention may assume a number of different detailed forms, theprimary requisite of such an auxiliary slub catcher is that it shall beadapted for lateral reception of the yarn. Thus, in the illustratedexample of FIGURE 4, it is provided with a yarn receiving mouth orentryslot 41 opening laterally in a generally horizontal direction oppositeto the opening of the mouth or entry slots between the anvil plate 21and its associated slub catcher blade 22 and hold down bars 19 and 20.Also it is importan'tthat the mouth or entry slot 41 of this auxiliaryslub catcher be so positioned as to receive and operatively engage theyarn just as soon as the yarn is acted upon by the retraction movementof the transfer arm, but not to act upon it during normal movement ofthe yarn through the main slub catcher .18.

With this in mind there is illustrated in FIGURES 3, 4 and 5 a specificform 'of auxiliary slubcatcher'particularly adapted for use inconnection with the other mechanisms shown in the accompanying drawings.Such an auxiliary slub catcher comprises broadly any suitable meansdefining a laterally extending metering slot 42 opening at 41 in alateral direction toward the yarn Y during its normal dispositionthrough the main slub catcher 18, but displaced toone sidetherof 'or, inother words, on the right hand side thereof as shown in FIG- URE 1. Themetering slot 42 thus formed isjpositio'ned generally at the level ofthe interface between the friction discs 16, whereby the discsthemselves 'may assist in guiding the yarn into the slot duringretraction movement of the transfer arm 28. ,Such' guiding is furthersupplemented by the action of the Vertically disposed or extending guidelips or flanges 43 and'44 converging inwardly toward the mouth 41 of themetering slot 42. Also, if desired, there may be provided an overlyingarcu'atehold down plate 45 extending from the free end of the auxiliaryslub catcher partially around and concentrically to the hold down discs16.

Preferably the metering slot 42 is of adjustable width so that it may beadapted to coact with yarns of varying gauges or diameters. Suitableadjustability may be attained as indicated in the present embodiment byconstructing the auxiliary slub catcher of apair of pivotally connectedmembers '46 and 47, of which the lower stationary member is formed witha generally horizontal flange or base 48 by means of which it is securedby screws 49 to the support 10. The upper'andmovable member46 ispivotally connected at 50 to the lower member 47'at a location as'fardisplaced aspossible from the mouth of the metering slot. The locationof the pivot 50 is such as to maintain the opposed edges of the slot 42between the said members as nearly as possible in true parallelismthroughout'their range of relative a'djustment. Normally'the uppermember 46 is resiliently urged downwardly as by means of the spring51coiled around its pivot 50 and having one end abutting against bracket52 on the stationary member and the other end portion abutting against alateral flange 53 on the upper movable member 46 andpres'singfdownwardly as shown. Preferably this spring is formed at its lastmentioned end with inverted U-shaped portion, one leg 54 of whichextends across the metering slot or; gap 42to form a stop for engagementby the yarn. Adjustment of the width of the gap may be attained bymeansof a set screw 55 threaded downwardly through the bracket 53 for'abutment 'with the base or base flange 48 of the stationary member 47whereby to raise the upper member as desired against the resilient holddownactionof the spring 51. It is desirable also to provide a liftingtab 56 on the upper edge of the movable member whereby same may bemanually raised against the resilient spring action in order to permitfreeing or removal of foreign mat rial from the adjustable gap. Therange of relative adjustment of the members 46 and 47 may be restrictedwithin desired limits by a rivet 57 fixed to member 47 for movement in aslot 58 in member 46.

as indicated by the arrow in FIGURE 1. In doing so it will move beneaththe guide plates 19 and 20 and over the anvil plate 21. At the same timeit will move between the lower edge of the slub catcher blade 22 and theanvil plate. The spacing between the slub catcher blade and the anvilplate will normally be so selected as to permit free passagetherebetween of yarn of normal diameter and of somewhat greaterthannormal diameter within a certain range of tolerance. However, whenenlarged or thickened portions or slubs of greater than normal diameterattempt to move between the blade 22 and the anvil plate 21 they willabut against the lower blade edge and swing the blade thus toward theplate whereby to grip the slub and prevent its passage beneath the slubcatcher. The tension of the thread incident to the winding action aswell as the pinching action of the blade 22 against the anvil will causebreakage of the yarn at or beyond this point. This breakage and theensuing release of the hold down action of the tensioned yarn on thetrigger element 28 will permit that element through the biasing actionexerted thereon to swing upwardly and initiate the free end pickup andtying cycle. This will result in arcuate movement of the suctiontransfer arm 25 about its axis so that its free end will pass across thefree end portion of the yarn extending between the tension discs 16 andthe main slub catcher 18, it being understood that at this time thebroken or parted free end of this portion will normally be received andheld in the suction slot 32 shown in FIGURE 1. As it moves across theyarn, the free end of the transfer arm will pick up the yarn closelyadjacent the tension discs 16, and sever it at the pick-up point byinter-engagement between the cam plate 36 and the knife actuatingfollower element 37, while gripping and holding the new free end thusformed. The severed end portion containing the slub is then drawn intothe slot 32.

In the event the yarn has been merely exhausted from one spool orbobbin, the ensuing action of the sensing pin 17 will have triggered themagazine to index same for positioning the new bobbin to bring its yarninto the eyelet 14 from whence its free end will be held in the nozzleaforementioned and thus will extend across the path of movement of thearm so that it will be picked up by the arm and returned therewith tothe knotter. Thus, whether the transfer arm picks up the free end whichhas previously been parted by action of the main slub catcher or whetherit picks up the new free end from the reserve bobbin, the said free endwill in either event be carried by the transfer arm on its retractionmovement back around and to the right hand side of the main slub catcheras shown in FIGURE 1. Incident to this bypassing action or movement, aconsiderable length of the yarn adjacent the free end will be caused tocompletely bypass the main slub catcher.

However, it will be readily apparent that all but a very small length ofthe free end portion will, as an incident to the lateral component ofmovement of the transfer arm, be carried into and drawn through themetering gap 42 in the auxiliary slub catcher 40. The extreme free endportion which does not pass through the auxiliary slub catcher will inany event be carried past the knotter and severed from the remainder ofthe yarn incident to actuation of the knotter so that actually all ofthe yarn which is wound into the finished package will have beensubjected to the action of one slub catcher or the other. It will beseen that during the latter half of the arcuate movement of the transferarm 25, the yarn will be moved back inwardly or laterally from auxiliaryslub catcher 40 into the main slub catcher 18 as well as toward theknotter, whereby following completion of the tying cycle the main slubcatcher will act upon the yarn in usual manner.

In the event a snarl or slub is caught in the auxiliary slub catcherduring the tying cycle, it will either be broken or pulled from thetransfer arm and the latter, in accordance with conventional practice,will then be automatically actuated to make another advance stroke and asecond attempt to pick up the free end and lay it in the knotter. Inorder that the transfer arm 25 cannot at this time pull the slub orsnarl out of the mouth of the metering gap 42, the guide lips or flanges43 and 44 project appreciably from the surfaces or faces of theauxiliary slub catcher blades 46 and 47 in such manner that they willpresent opposed edges at the mouth 41 to engage and arrest the outwardmovement of the slub or snarl so that the latter cannot be caused to bewithdrawn and thence carried toward the knotter in a manner to defeatthe auxiliary slub catcher through bypassing it. Normally, after thetransfer arm has made its second pickup attempt as thus described, itwill come to rest and the winding operation will cease until such timeas the operator notes the condition and corrects it in a manner whichwill be obvious to those skilled in the art.

In this application there is shown only the preferred embodiment of theinvention simply by way of illustration of the practice of theinvention. However, it will be recognized that the invention is capableof other and different embodiments and that its several details may bemodified in various ways, all without departing from the invention asdefined in the appended claims. Accordingly, the drawings anddescription herein are to be considered as merely illustrative in natureand not as restrictive.

What is claimed is:

1. In a yarn winding machine, a main slub catcher supported on saidmachine and arranged for reception of yarn, an auxiliary slub catcher onsaid machine spaced from said main slub catcher and arranged forreception of yarn, and a yarn transfer element movable between said slubcatchers to carry yarn from one slub catcher to the other.

2. In a yarn winding machine, a main slub catcher sup ported on saidmachine and arranged for the lateral reception of yarn, an auxiliaryslub catcher on said machine spaced from said main slub catcher andarranged for lateral reception of yarn, and a yarn transfer elementmovable between said slub catchers to carry yarn from one slub catcherto the other.

3. In a yarn winding machine, a main slub catcher supported on saidmachine and arranged for the lateral reception of yarn from one lateraldirection, an auxiliary slub catcher on said machine spaced from saidmain slub catcher and arranged for lateral reception of yarn from adifferent lateral direction, and a yarn transfer element movable betweensaid slub catchers to carry yarn from one slub catcher to the other.

4. In a yarn winding machine of the class in which the yarn being woundis normally drawn through a main slub catcher and, in event of breakage,a free end of said yarn is picked up by a transfer arm having acomponent of lateral movement and carried thereby laterally to one sideof the main slub catcher, and thence to a knotter, the combination withsaid winding machine of an auxiliary slub catcher mounted on saidmachine, said auxiliary slub catcher being spaced from the main slubcatcher and arranged to receive yarn transported thereto by the arm.

5 In a yarn winding machine, a main slub catcher supported on saidmachine and arranged for reception of yarn from one lateral direction,an auxiliary slub catcher on said machine spaced longitudinally fromsaid main slub catcher and arranged for lateral reception of yarn froman opposite lateral direction, and a yarn transfer element movablebetween said slub catchers and having both longitudinal and lateralcomponents of movement whereby to carry yarn laterally from one slubcatcher to the other.

6. In a yarn winding machine of the class in which the yarn being woundis normally drawn through a main slub catcher and, in event of breakage,a free end of said yarn is picked up by a transfer arm having acomponent of lateral movement and carried thereby laterally to one sideof the main slub catcher, and thence to a knotter, the combination withsaid winding machine of an auxiliary slub catcher mounted on saidmachine on said one side of the main slub catcher, and arranged toreceive yarn carried laterally to said one side by the arm, and to actupon said yarn during subsequent movement of said arm toward theknotter.

7. In a yarn winding machine including a main slub catcher and means forwinding yarn in a generally longitudinal direction through said slubcatcher, an auxiliary slub catcher disposed to one side of the main slubcatcher and longitudinally spaced therefrom, and a yarn transfer elementmovable between said slub catchers in a predetermined path having bothlongitudinal and sideways components for deflecting the yarn to one sideinto said auxiliary slub catcher and then drawing it longitudinallythrough said auxiliary slub catcher.

8. In a yarn winding machine, a fixed supporting bracket havinglongitudinally opposed front and rear ends, yarn guide means adjacentthe front end of said bracket for slidably receiving and laterallypositioning a yarn strand for movement in a generally predeterminedlongitudinal path over said bracket, a main slub catcher on said bracketlongitudinally rearwardly spaced from said yarn guide means for slidablyreceiving said yarn and for parting the yarn responsive to a slub,thereby leaving a free end portion of yarn extending longitudinallybetween said yarn guide means and said main slub catcher, a transfer armhaving a free operative end swingable through an advance stroke and areturn stroke in an are extending around said main slub catcher andbetween said main slub catcher and the yarn guide means for picking upsaid free yarn end portion and transferring it to a knotter, incombination with an auxiliary slub catcher positioned outside of saidarc adjacent said yarn guide means, said auxiliary slub catcher having ayarn metering gap opening toward the normal path of said yarn movement,for reception of and operative engagement with said yarn incident to themovement imparted to said yarn on the return stroke of the transfer armtoward said knotter.

9. In a yarn winding machine of the class wherein the yarn includes arectilinear run normally moving in the direction of its length from asource of supply toform a package, said run passing in series through atensioning device and a main slub catcher spaced from said tensioningdevice in a longitudinal direction, said main slub catcher having a yarnreceiving opening on one side thereof, and a transfer element movabletransversely to said yarn between said tensioning device and said mainslub catcher for picking up a free end portion of yarn and laying samein a knotter to be united with a free end extending from said package,the combination with said winding machine of an auxiliary slub catcherfixedly positioned in a longitudinal position between said tensioningdevice and said main slub catcher, said auxiliary slub catcher includingrelatively spaced yarn metering blades defining between them a meteringgap disposed transversely to one side of said run of the yarn, said gapincluding a mouth opening toward said run of the yarn and includingguides converging laterally toward said mouth to direct the displacedyarn thereinto.

10. In a yarn winding machine, a fixed support adapted for dispositionbeneath a running length of yarn during lengthwise movement of said yarnin a path extending from a source of supply to a package in process ofbeing wound, a main slub catcher positioned on said support and in saidpath for normal operative engagement with said running length of yarn toarrest the yarn movement and part the yarn incident to attempted passageof a slub therethrough, said main slub catcher being adapted forreception of the yarn from one side thereof, and an auxiliary slubcatcher positioned on said support on said one side of said path andincluding a mouth adapted for reception of yarn displaced to said oneside, in combination with a yarn transfer arm having a first componentof movement towards and away from said one side, and a second componentof movement longitudinally towards a knotter, for picking up a free endportion of the yarn parted by said main slub catcher, moving said yarninto said auxiliary slub catcher and longitudinally therethrough towarda knotter, and thence from said auxiliary slub catcher back into saidmain slub catcher.

11. In a yarn winding machine, a main slub catcher supported on saidmachine, and having a slot opening toward one side of the machine forreception of a running length of longitudinally moving yarn, anauxiliary slub catcher on said machine longitudinally spaced from saidmain slub catcher and defining a yarn metering slot opening in anopposite direction from said first mentioned slot, and yarn transfermeans movable through an arc between said slub catchers, to carry yarninto said auxiliary slub catcher and from said auxiliary slub catcher tothe main slub catcher while drawing it longitudinally through saidauxiliary slub catcher.

12. A yarn winding machine as defined in claim 9 including meansadjacent the mouth of said gap and carried by said auxiliary slubcatcher for preventing retraction of a slub in a lateral direction fromsaid mouth.

13. A yarn winding machine, as defined in claim 10 in which saidauxiliary slub catcher includes flanges projecting therefrom normally ina longitudinal direction, on opposite sides of its said mouth, toprevent retraction of a slub through said mouth incident to lateralmovement of said transfer arm.

14. A yarn winding machine, as defined in claim 13 wherein said flangesconverge laterally inwardly to said mouth of the auxiliary slubcatcher.

15. A yarn winding machine, as defined in claim 10 in which saidauxiliary slub catcher comprises a pair of members having relativelyopposed lateral edges defining a metering slot communicating at onelateral end with said mouth, a means interconnecting said members foradjustment of their said edges toward and away from each other.

16. A yarn winding machine, as defined in claim 10 in which saidauxiliary slub catcher comprises a pair of rigid members havingrelatively opposed lateral edges defining a metering slot, said mouth ofthe auxiliary slub catcher comprising one lateral end of the slot, saidmembers being pivotally interconnected at their ends remote from saidmouth.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,434,091 Arrington Jan. 6, 1948 2,522,751 Doll Sept. 19, 1950 2,732,610Perry Jan. 31, 1956 2,764,362 Goodhue et a1. Sept. 25, 1956

8. IN A YARN WINDING MACHINE, A FIXED SUPPORTING BRACKET HAVINGLONGITUDINALLY OPPOSED FRONT AND REAR ENDS, YARN GUIDE MEANS ADJACENTTHE FRONT END OF SAID BRACKET FOR SLIDABLY RECEIVING AND LATERALLYPOSITIONING A YARN STRAND FOR MOVEMENT IN A GENERALLY PREDETERMINEDLONGITUDINAL PATH OVER SAID BRACKET, A MAIN SLUB CATCHER ON SAID BRACKETLONGITUDINALLY REARWARDLY SPACED FROM SAID YARN GUIDE MEANS FOR SLIDABLYRECEIVING SAID YARN AND FOR PARTING THE YARN RESPONSIVE TO A SLUB,THEREBY LEAVING A FREE END PORTION OF YARN EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLYBETWEEN SAID YARN GUIDE MEANS AND SAID MAIN SLUB CATCHER, A TRANSFER ARMHAVING A FREE OPERATIVE END SWINGABLE THROUGH AN ADVANCE STROKE AND ARETURN STROKE IN AN ARC EXTENDING AROUND SAID MAIN SLUB CATCHER ANDBETWEEN SAID MAIN SLUB CATCHER AND THE YARN GUIDE MEANS FOR PICKING UPSAID FREE YARN END PORTION AND TRANSFERRING IT TO A KNOTTER, INCOMBINATION WITH AN AUXILIARY SLUB CATCHER POSITIONED OUTSIDE OF SAIDARC ADJACENT SAID YARN GUIDE MEANS, SAID AUXILIARY SLUB CATCHER HAVING AYARN METERING GAP OPENING TOWARD